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ANALYSIS by Harriett Fjaagesund |

Normally, when 1 write an ar- ticle 1 concentrate on the facts at hand and try to keep whatever personal opinions 1 may have out of the writing (or at least toa minimum). But because of the subject matter of this article, which concerns the Transcen-

_ dental Meditation lecture recent~- ‘ty held at Northwest Community

College, I found I had to rely as much on intuition as I did facts. My opinions are my own (you'll find them at the end of this arti- cle) and are not meant as a guideline for you to follow.

The -Transcendental Medita- tion program (or TM, as it is popularly referred to) was founded by Maharishi Mehesh Yogi in 1957, and is now pur- ported to have approximately three million converts world- wide,

Maharishi, who has a back- ground in physics, travelled to the Himalayas where he joined a monastery to study the §,000-year-old science of Sthapatya-Ved (the term is de- rived from the word sthapana meaning ‘‘to establish’’ and ved meaning ‘‘puré knowledge’’). Armed with this knowledge,

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Transcendental Meditation lecture unenlightening ©

Maharishi then proceeded to develop his Transcendental Meditation program through a non-profit organization.

Peter Cameron, an extension professor at the Maharishi Inter- national University (MIU) in Fairfield, lowa, explained at the Terrace lecture that TM is a sim- ple, natural technique that in- volves two 15- to 20-minute ses- sions daily in which practitioners focus their attention on a “‘man- tra’’,.a word or sound in San- skrit, that they recite mentally to promote relaxation and relieve stress.

A native of Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Cameron gave up a

‘promising musical carrer as a

pianist, arranger and composer

for full-time involvement with -

the TM movement, which he first became aware of in 1970.

. While attending the Berklee Col-

lege of Music in Boston, he at-

tended'a TM lecture at Harvard,

out of curiosity.

_’ He was impressed enough to

take the eight-hour course of- fered (which is taught in a series of private lessons and costs

‘$400, with discounts for fami-

lies, students and seniors, and free to anyone who has taken it before), and eventually. decided he wanted to teach others the benefits of TM, so began train- ing in Europe as an instructor.

Travel is high Mar. 21-Apr. 19

July 23-Aug. 22

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 72

LIBRA

get together.

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov, 21

SAGITTARIUS

Nov, 22-Dec. 21

CAPRICORN.

Dec, 22-Jan.19 all in Caprico AQUARIUS

Jan, 20-Feb. 18

PISCES Feb, 19-Mar. 20

lighted the next few weeks, and

can be very pleasurable with the right partner. Choose your companions with care.

Legal matters could be prominent in your schedule,

TAURUS Apr.20-May.20 . Joint financial matters indicate a need to study security plans,

GEMINI Close personal and business relationships are May21-Sune20 | emphasized. The new moon on. Sunday could signal thestart of anew partnership: -

CANCER Good news concerning a health matter gives areal June21-July22 boost in morale. Additional responsibilities on

. _ the job bring rewards. LEO Thereis no easy road toriches but it won't doany

harm to fantasize about hitting it big. .

Pay close attention to family and property inter- ests in the holiday hustle and bustle. Be aware

of health hazards. ;

_.. Neighborhood activities add an air of festivity. Sept. 23-Oct. 22 There's plenty of action when family and friends

Financial decisions made under the new moon influence take on a new direclion, Be wary of aquick-fix proposition.

Finances are sure to be a prominent point of in- terest. There are hidden factors that emerge at thestrangest times. ae

Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Venus, and Sun, are

rn at this time, causing great hap-

penings, some positive, somenotso positive,

The holiday season should generate plenty of social and romantic popularity. Pay attention to the needs of the younger set.

_ Friends and social activity are emphasized. The effect you have on those you come in contact with is an inspirational experience.

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Training for an instructor takes approximately eight months.

After completion of the train- ing course, Cameron returned to Wolfville to take up his musical studies at Acadia, and taught meditation on the side up until 1983, when he began his Masters degree..in business administra- tion at MIU.

‘Cameron describes meditation

as a deep level of rest that allows . 7

the body to trigger its repair mechanisms, something he says it is unable to do during or- dinary sleep. He went on to ex- plain that research indicates regular practise of TM increases intelligence and creativity, im- proves memory, improves academic performance, reduces cholesterol: levels, normalizes blood pressure, reduces insom- nia, and improves asthmatic conditions.

A brochure outlining the benefits of TM states that a health insurance study found that TM meditators had less ill- ness in every disease category, including 55 percent less cancer, 87 percent less disease of the ner- vous system, and 87 percent less heart disease. Cameron added that the organization is trying to convince the Canadian govern- ment to integrate TM into the health care system. The brochure also states that over 440 studies have been conducted worldwide on the TM program in 27 countries. -

Other long-range plans in- clude integrating the program into prisons and jails worldwide, a proposal based on the reported:

Peter Cameron: Simple, natural technique — for $400.

ties in with a theory called the Unified Field of Natural Law. Through quantum field theories, some scientists believe that all the laws of nature responsible for conducting all the activity in creation spring from one basic unified field. From this field, nature governs the universe in perfect order (and always in an evolutionary direction). TM re- portedly puts the meditator in direct contact with this unified

field. -

All-this information sounds

‘rather impressive, but several _things bothered me. When I

spoke with Laurel Gregg, owner

success of teaching the technique to Senegalese prisoners, whereby the repeat offender rate dropped from 90 percent down to five percent.

The organization has also pre- sented a proposal to the U.S.

- government to hire 10,000 peple who will be paid an annual salary of $40,000 to meditate as a group at MIU on a full-time basis ‘to help establish world peace. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has laid claims that when only one percent of the populace of a city practises TM, there is a marked drop in that city’s crime rate,

The proposal suggests the U.S. government will save an estimated $522 billion over a three-year period on their initial $1 billion investment by lower- ing unemployment and health care costs, decreased defense spending, and overall improve- ment in the economy.

Cameron added that mantras ,

have no religious connotations,

they are used only as sounds and

in no way conflict with relious beliefs. . ,

Supporters of Transcendental

» Meditation: also: claim that TM

SO Wiehe AE Legh MEETS

and operator of Nirvana Modern Metaphysics in Thorn- hill, who also teaches meditation classes, she felt the TM course fees were too steep, even taking into account travel and operating costs. Gregg says the most she charges is $75 for an eight-week progressive medita- tion course.

There seems to be some con- troversy surrounding Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s actual financial status. Although he reportedly owns little more than a few long robes and a pair of sandals, there are rumours that he is now in fact a very wealthy man.

Also confusing was the mys- tique regarding the mantras each person receives. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi supposedly has a chart of different sounds, one for each personality type, that was developed by an ancient civilization. Each individual re- ceives their mantra during a private interview with the in- structor, and re told they must keep this word, or sound, secret, that it must never be spoken out loud; to do so will render it less effective.

Grege vigorously disagreed

with this, saying that there is nothing mysterious or secretive about mantras (a repeated sound which enables the meditator to better focus his or her concen- tration), they are common knowledge available to everyone, and to believe that saying. a sound out loud will make it less useful is just plain silly. An example of a mantra is the ‘‘om’’ sound.

” \Gregg added that the only chart for mantras she is aware of

is for chakras (energy centres of © the body). You would, for ex- ample, use.a specific mantra if .

you were having back problems and you wanted to work on that. Gregg says the only secret about’ an individual’s mantra ‘is that it is hidden within themselves, and what she does is teach you to find your own individual man- tra. She questions why anyone should pay $400 for something

that already belongs to them.

Another point of contention arose when Cameron explained the importance of routine follow-ups to ensure people con- tinue practising the TM _ tech- nique properly (apparently the technique may require subtle ad- justments as we grow older and change).

While individuals will not have to pay for this, there is the problem in that the nearest TM centre for the north is located in Vancouver (and possibly some time in the future, Prince George}. Cameron admitted it could be several years before he or another instructor will return to this area. This seems to be akin to buying a foreign product and discovering, after it breaks down, that the nearest replace- ment parts are located in an- other country. :

{ have absolutely nothing against meditation, but I do question the TM movemeut. For me there are (oo many grey areas with unsatisfactory answers. We're all searching for solutions to the world’s ills (and our own), but we should question the an- swers we receive before jumping headlong into anything.

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